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High Rite: Lughnasadh

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This year’s Lughnasadh Rite ritual will be August 4th, 2018 at CedarLight Center. The main ritual starts at 7 PM, the doors open to the public at 11 AM for the games, games to start at 11:30 AM. We will start the feast by calling on the gods and making them a plate. The feast will be followed by picnic and games in the back, with dessert after the ritual. Pre-ritual brief will be at 6 PM. All High Rites are open to the public, so feel free to bring a friend!

Times are subject to change, please check before you leave.

Lore of the Season & Ritual Information

Lughnasadh is the story of Tailtue, a Fir Bolg queen who comes to live in the courts of the Tuatha da Dannan after a war in which the Fir Bolg lost. She is responsible for the clearing of a plain so that her people could grow food and have pasture land for their cattle. The stories vary but she either did this herself in the form of a horse or she used her influence to make it happen. Either way, she is the reason that it was cleared and when she died, her foster son Lugh Lamfada buries her in the great mound in this place which carries her name. Lugh then caused funeral games and later fairs to commemorate Tailtue and her sacrifice for her people.

Tailtue is the patron of Cedarlight Grove as in 1995 she spoke to our founder, William Pierson, and said “Build a home for my people.” Thus the search began and at Yule 1996 we held our first High Rite in the building and property we now own.

Our prayer for the rite: Tailtue and Lugh, help us to tend our lands sustainably!

Our final offering for this rite will involve participants watering the Sanctuary with water charged by the Folk. We will charge the water by dropping in stones charged with the energy of the skills we each bring to CedarLight Grove. We may not all be Lugh, the master of all trades, but we all have something valuable we can bring to the wider community.

Suggested Offerings

Small stone for the final offering

Alcohol/Beer

Incense, Flowers, & Herbs

Any and all grains

Bardic works you have created (please let the ritual team know ahead of time so they can slot you in)

Note: There will be a bardic circle for stories and songs during the afternoon games if folks wish

Hand-crafted items

PLEASE NOTE: We take oaths very seriously. Any oaths given as an offering MUST be cleared with the Senior Druid prior to the High Rite. Please see Caryn upon arrival if you plan on giving an oath.

Ritual Etiquette

PLEASE DO NOT BLOCK NEIGHBORS’ DRIVEWAYS! Please give them enough room on either side of the space to swing cars in.

Do not honor deities of different pantheons than those being honored at this rite

Keep all electronic devices like cellphones and tablets off or turned down. Electrical devices ARE, however, allowed to be used to recite offerings.

Offerings will be mainly given in silence as a group, but if you have something you wish to say, sing, or recite, let the Chief Liturgist know ahead of time so they can make time for your offering

Do not declare any oaths during the rite without expressed permission from the Chief Liturgist well before the rite.

If your children are noisy or wandering around the ritual space, please remove them temporarily until they can compose again in the ritual space. We are very children friendly, but we also don’t want them accidentally falling into the ritual fire.

Membership Beads may be available for members only. Please do not take a bead if you are not a registered member of CedarLight.

If you are sick, we ask that you not drink from the horn or chalice during the Waters of Life. We will make sure to have personal vessels available so you can still drink from the Waters of Life without sharing germs 🙂

Do not take offerings off of the altar that are not yours

What to Bring?

Bring a Dish for the Potluck!

Participants who bring a dish to share are welcome to participate in the feast. Your dish should serve approximately 6-10 people. Please label whether your dish has meat or not on an index card or paper for our vegetarians. It’s also a good idea to list the ingredients if available for other food sensitivities.

Suggested Seasonal Food to Bring:

Cold dishes such as salads due to the heat

Fresh fruit

Grain dishes of all kinds (don’t forget our gluten-free folks!)

Anything Seasonal!

We plan to have the grill fired up for burgers and dogs

There are cans of sodas and bottled water available at the Grove for 50 cents each. Feel free to contribute beverages to the Grove!

Dress Appropriately

The High Rite will be done outdoors, and it may be hot. So be prepared and bring some cooler clothes, sunscreen or a hat and bugspray. If you have a chair you’d like to sit in during the High Rites, we suggest bringing that too.

Cost/Donations

All CedarLight events have a suggested donation of $10 per person. This can be contributed to Dagda’s Cauldron either at the Grove, or online via paypal to cedarlightgrove@gmail.com. All donations go towards CedarLight Center bills and upkeep.

Children and Pets

Children are welcome to all CedarLight events, but must be attended at all times because our center is not child proof, there are stairs, fires, candles and small items that could be swallowed. We do not yet have children activities planned for this event. Pets however, are not allowed because we have learned from past mistakes that not everyone knows how to approach an animal and not every animal will behave predictably with many strangers around. Thank you for understanding.